`MNF' LIFTS ABC TO RATINGS WIN

Monday night football got its highest ratings of the season and made ABC No. 1 for the second time this fall.

The network grabbed a 27 average rating with the Dec. 3 "NFL Monday Night Football" game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants, the A.C. Nielsen Co. reported Tuesday. Each ratings point represents 931,000 homes.ABC won the week with a 12.7 average. The network's only other win this fall came last month when the game between the Raiders and the Dolphins helped ABC trounce its competitors with a 13.4 average.

Usually first-place NBC fell to second last week with an 11.9. CBS was in its usual third place with an 11.1.

"60 Minutes" on CBS got its highest ratings of the season and finished second with a 23 average. "Cheers" on NBC, the No. 1 favorite for much of the season, dropped to third.

The three-minute premiere of Fox Broadcasting's new "Simpsons" video, shown at the end of Thursday's regularly scheduled episode, helped push the animated family up the Nielsen ladder.

The video, "Do the Bartman," scored higher ratings than the 30-minute "Simpsons" episode that preceded it. The video earned a 16.1 average. "The Simpsons" earned a 14.9 and landed in 20th place.

In the network news, ABC, with Peter Jennings, won its 48th consecutive week with a 12.2 average. NBC and Tom Brokaw tied with CBS and Dan Rather with a 10.